Radford, Webby finish 11th in FINA 10km World Cup

Eleven proved a popular number for New Zealand swimmers Kane Radford and Charlotte Webby in the latest round of the FINA 10km World Cup in Portugal.

Rotorua’s Radford was among a select group fighting out for the bronze medal in the final dash of the men’s race, finishing only eight seconds off third place.

American Chip Peterson won in 1:54.23 from Christian Reichert (Germany) 24 seconds back. Radford was in a group of 14 swimmers who sprinted home for the final podium spot, finishing 11^th in 1:55.08.

Auckland’s Phillip Ryan (Waterhole) finished 25^th from a field of 50 in 1:55:59 with Waikato’s Troy Balvert (St Peters) 36^th in 1:58:10.

Italian Rachele Bruni cemented her overall lead in the series with victory in the women’s race in 2:05.24 as she and experienced Japanese swimmer Yumi Kida distanced themselves from the field in the women’s race.

Webby clung on to a nine-strong chase pack that included open water world champions Eva Fabian (USA) and Angela Maurer (GER) until the final lap when she slipped off the back, finishing 11^th in 2:07.27.

National champion Penny Hayes (St Peters) was 18^th in 2:18.23.

Radford and Ryan now head to Korea to compete in the World University Games starting this weekend in Korea.